Findings Series 14 - Community health profiles of Greater Glasgow and Clyde

This paper describes the approach taken and aims and purpose of ten new community health and wellbeing profiles compiled by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health and makes some observations from the profiles common to all areas.

Designed to inform service providers, planners, policy makers and the public about public health issues, both locally and at national level, these ten new community health and wellbeing profiles provide indicators for a range of health outcomes (e.g. life expectancy, morality, hospitalisation) and health determinants (e.g. smoking levels, breastfeeding, income, employment, crime, education).

Some key findings are: 

• At an area level there are strong correlations between socio-economic circumstances and health related behaviours, illness and mortality levels.
• Comparisons across the region demonstrate stark contrasts in health and life circumstances of people living in different parts of Greater Glasgow and Clyde.  Life and health in affluent communities is very different to the experience of living in deprived communities.
• There are many large and sharply defined health and social inequalities across Greater Glasgow and Clyde such as:
  • There is a nine year gap in male life expectancy at birth comparing across the CH(C)Ps; the equivalent gap for women is slightly less at around six years
  • Levels of breastfeeding very from 20% in East Glasgow to 49% in East Renfrewshire
  • Rates of income deprivation are approximately half the national average (7.5% vs. 13.9%, nationally) in East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire, but double the Scottish rate in North and East Glasgow 
    - Rates of domestic abuse incidents are four times higher in East Glasgow than in East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire
• However, some positive health trends do emerge.  For example, mortality from chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke have been declining in most areas.  There have been notable rises in breastfeeding in North, West and Southeast Glasgow over the last eight years, and rates in East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire have been significantly above the Scottish average over the same period.